Over the past few months, Rabbi Fabián Werbin and the Kol Shalom executive team have been busy working out logistics to open a preschool at the synagogue, which will begin operating in September.
Werbin has successfully done community outreach to grow the Rockville synagogue’s membership. The Young faMEALies Shabbat Experience is a program Werbin implemented for families with infants through fourth graders to get to know the shul and community. It’s a time to socialize with one’s neighbors, sing traditional tunes and eat a complimentary dinner.
“[The] little kids running around the building brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm into the congregation, and we started to see that we could have a preschool,” Werbin said of the Shabbat Experience events, which see an average of 100 to 120 attendees.
Having a preschool in the community, he said, will continue to attract young families.
Kol Shalom has recently experienced an influx in membership — with more than 50 new members joining in the past 18 months. Many of these new members are young families.
“In order for us to continue growing, we need to look for the younger generations as well,” Werbin said.
But the rabbi doesn’t want just another preschool; he envisions a community staple that combines the Montessori, Waldorf education and Forest School philosophies. That means nurturing all aspects of a child’s development, with emphasis on time in nature, play, independence and hands-on learning.
On any given day, the preschoolers may be found learning both Hebrew and English, preparing their meals, doing yoga and spending time outdoors on the property’s large playground.
“[Our layout at Kol Shalom] really allows for the educators to leverage the environment towards the kids’ learning,” Kol Shalom President Michael Siegel said. “They plan to do a lot of outdoor activities and planting, gardening and enjoying nature.”
Parents will play a crucial role in the classroom, where they’ll be invited to help celebrate Shabbat and make challah with students. Kabbalat Shabbat programs by the school are geared toward families, rather than just preschoolers.
“It’s not going to be just for the kids,” Werbin said.
The preschool isn’t limited to teachers, rabbis and educators either.
“We have many talented people in our synagogue: people who are artists who make sculptures or paintings, people who are very good with gardening, and they are agreeing to come in and work with the kids, lend their expertise to these young children,” Siegel said. “We have a lot of people who are willing to contribute not only their money but their time. That helps make community.”
Werbin hopes this “Jewish family educational” model will allow families to befriend one another.
“We want to create something meaningful for these parents that goes beyond the preschool,” he said.
According to Jewish tradition, Jewish early education is of utmost importance. The Torah teaching Chanoch L’naar al pi Darko means to “start educating children young so they know their path in life,” Werbin said. Part of that education involves getting to know the rabbi, who plans to be present every day in the classroom, and learning traditional blessings for before and after eating a meal.
“They will slowly develop the skills to know which blessing goes with every different situation,” Werbin said.
Kol Shalom’s Hazzan Sally Heckelman will also be involved with the kids’ learning, teaching them Hebrew and traditional songs, according to Werbin. They’ll learn about the lifecycle events, Shabbat, Torah and holiday traditions.
Siegel added that in order to see past the negative and, at times, antisemitic comments “pervasive” on social media, kids need to be taught “strong ethical, moral values from an early age.”
“You start this from a very young age by imparting strong values, strong ideas of their own, who they are and what they believe in,” he said.
Werbin and Siegel said Kol Shalom’s preschool will open its doors to eight students in the fall.
“If we have more, we’ll be happy to have more,” Werbin said, adding that he hopes to double enrollment for the 2026–27 school year and double again the following year.
“We’re very hopeful; We believe we have something special to offer,” he said.
